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Newsletter May 2021

The month of May is usually a very busy time here in Thailand, especially in our home town of Chanthaburi. Not only is this area the centre of the gems trade, but it is also the best place in the world for Durian – the so-called stinky king of fruits. May is the time for harvesting and selling so the roads are full of pick-up trucks overflowing with the giant spiky fruits as they head to the markets to sell to buyers from around the world.

Durian - Stinky Fruit
Durian - Stinky Fruit

In other parts of the world, I notice Mother's Day is upon us, in early May for America, New Zealand and Australia and later in the month for many other countries. It falls in March in England so I could have been in trouble but luckily for me, (and her) my mum is stuck in New Zealand so I still have time to send her a gift.

Take a look at our Gemstones for Mothers article here for some ideas for presents or a gift of your mother's birthstone is always a good idea. If you want to give your mom something truly individual you can find her personalized gemstone by typing in her time, day and year of birth to find several options for her.

See our Article / Tool Gemstones By Birthdate here

Speaking of birthstones, May has one of the finest gems of all in the mighty green emerald. Steeped in history, mythology and spirituality, a birthday gift of an emerald would be appreciated by anyone celebrating this month.

See our May birthstone article here

How about a couple of ‘fascinating fun facts' about emeralds?

  • The first recorded emerald mine was near the Red Sea coast in Ancient Egypt dated 1500 BC.
  • Nowadays 50% of the world's emeralds come from Colombia in South America
  • Roman Emperor Nero disliked the sight of blood so much he wore emerald sunglasses during gladiator fights at the coliseum.
  • Emeralds are not just birthstones, they are also the traditional gift to celebrate the 20th, 35th and 55th wedding anniversaries.

Almost impossible to imagine, but if you don't like emeralds, there are two traditional alternatives for May birthstones – Agate and Chrysoprase

Did you watch the Oscars this week? It may have been the most boring 5 minutes of TV since the Tellytubbies but some of the jewelry worn on the red carpet was pretty spectacular.

Of special interest to us in the colored gemstone world were the:

  • Orange Tourmalines worn by Carey Mulligan
  • Pearls, Rubies and Onyx worn by Reese Witherspoon
  • Onyx and Peridot worn by Leslie Odom Jr
  • The 30 carat Morganite earrings and 20 carat Amethyst ring worn by Emerald Fennell (great name!)
  • Blue Sapphire ring worn by Glenn Close
  • Ruby ring worn by Angela Bassett

Lovely to see so many gorgeous colored stones on display.

New Arrivals

We have a great selection of New Arrivals yet again this month. Take a look at the amethysts and citrines as well as the fantastic beryls in bright yellow tones. My stand outs for the month though, must be the stunning orange hessonite garnets – so good I may have to buy one or two myself.

New Arrivals
New Arrivals - May 2021

COOKIE!

Brazil is the source of many of the world's finest gemstones from emeralds and diamonds to topaz and tourmaline but a recent find in Soledade in Southern Brazil could be the discovery of the decade. An agate that looks like the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street!

New Arrivals
(Image credit: Kennedy News & Media)
Gemstones from Brazil
Gemstones from Brazil

Customer Questions

Every month we answer questions of general interest from our customers. Please feel free to send your questions or suggestions to our support team at help@gemselect.com

Question

Blue topaz is a very common gemstone so why is imperial topaz so rare?

Answer

Imperial Topaz gemstones comprise less than 1% of all gem-grade topaz and range from golden yellow to sherry pink. Imperial Topaz sole source is near the Brazilian town of Ouro Preto. It was previously also found in Russia (in fact the name Imperial came from the pink topaz mined in the Ural Mountains and named in honor of the Russian Czars), although the Russian mines have now dried up and the Brazilian mines are nearing exhaustion too. Imperial topaz commands a premium price, and with no new sources found, the price and value is bound to increase.

Question

Do you have any yellow Kunzite gems?

Answer

There is actually no such thing as yellow Kunzite. Kunzite is the pink form of Spodumene and can only be pink; the terms yellow Kunzite as well as a range of other variants such as mint Kunzite and white Kunzite are marketing terms for different colors of the mineral Spodumene. It is very misleading and, in fact, fraudulent to use these terms to inaccurately describe various non pink colored Spodumene minerals as Kunzite.

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Happy Gemstone Hunting!

Team GemSelect
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